About Our People

Chris is an experienced business leader with more than 30 years of experience in the software industry and has a proven track record of accelerating innovation and driving sales at high-growth software companies. He has had the privilege of working at established public companies such as iManage (HP), Interwoven and Autonomy, as well as start-ups, with a focus in SaaS, Legal Content Solutions, Artificial Intelligence, IoT and Big Data. In addition to his most recent position as CEO at Gauge Telematics, an IoT asset management platform company, Chris served as the CEO at, Complia Health, Microsystems Inc. (now Litera), SpringCM (now DocuSign), Fios, Inc. (now DTI). Chris holds a BS in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University and lives in Long Grove, Illinois with his wife and golden retriever Nelly.

Jon has worked for large companies as well as several startups where he helped grow and successfully sell some of those businesses. For most of his 28-year career he has managed and built sales and marketing organizations for companies including Interwoven, Fios and SpringCM. He has worked with boards of directors and early stage company CEOs to help them hone their go to market strategies. During his career, he has focused on accelerating revenue growth through efforts which included pioneering inside sales teams, partner relationships and thought leadership. He has led both direct and indirect sales channels. With a focus on creating customer intimacy while driving user adoption of those companies’ offerings. Jon holds a BS in Economics from the University of Rochester and lives in Massachusetts with his wife and four children.

Chris has spent more than 15 years in software development and management in both startups and large companies. His work at Ascent is a natural extension of his experience creating workflow tools, gracefully combining human and machine operations, and building beautiful, intuitive, user-oriented experiences. He earned a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Olin College.

Carrie is an experienced people leader with over fifteen years’ experience of maturing the HR & Recruiting functions in past organizations. Most recently, she was in the cybersecurity industry, aiding in the growth of the Talent Acquisition function at Stroz Friedberg and supported the acquisition and integration activities with Aon. Prior to that, she was one of the early employees at GoHealth and established their in-house recruiting function and led many first-time people initiatives within the Talent Team. Carrie earned a BA in Speech Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and holds a Professional Human Resources (PHR) certification. She is a member of the Talent & HR Council with Sales Assembly. When not at work, Carrie and her husband are having fun with their three small children.

Ellen is dedicated to creating a client-centric culture and an enjoyable customer journey. Her entire career has been driven by the pursuit of ensuring client satisfaction and exceeding expectations. Over the last seven years, she has become a customer experience leader within the SaaS industry. At Ascent, Ellen and her team focus on helping regulated firms leverage the full power of the company’s Regulatory Knowledge Automation, so they can comply with regulation more easily. Ellen has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Kris is an experienced product leader, technologist, and legal professional with over 15 years combined experience in the technology and legal industries. He has worked in the Chicago tech industry for the last six years in product and technical roles across the SaaS, FinTech, and artificial intelligence spaces. Prior to working in B2B SaaS, he worked as a technologist and field researcher of classified technologies for the USAF, and spent time as a state public defender in Colorado. He has a J.D. from the University of Denver, a BIS in Finance from Angelo State University, and is a USAF veteran. When not at work, Kris enjoys outdoor hobbies, geek culture with his teenage son, and is a sucker for a good Chicago patio or food fest.

Alexandra specializes in finding new ways to streamline the complex world of regulatory research and compliance. At Ascent, she leads a team of legal analysts and helps them apply their expertise to advanced technologies. Together, Alexandra’s team collaborates with Ascent’s data science and engineering experts to blend legal analysis, machine learning, and natural language processing in support of the company’s Regulatory Knowledge Automation solution. Alexandra earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Daniel is a technical leader that brings more than 15 years of professional experience in building software and nearly two decades of working in technology. He has worked for SaaS startups, FinTech SMBs, and tech companies as large as 11k employees. With that experience, he brings a broad knowledge set across many stacks with a focus on bringing order to complex applications and architectures while empowering engineers to do what they do best. Outside of work, Daniel loves to give back to the local tech scene by mentoring prospective engineers and volunteering his time to teach kids how to code. On a personal level, Daniel is a serial hobbyist with a passion for food, exercise, and exploring the many parks of Chicago with his family.